Stronger Than This
by Lonie09
Summary: He was East High's king. She was the shy new girl. All they shared was a mutual dislike of each other. However, both are harbouring a secret. A shared pain. In the end only they can help each other through it.
1. Chapter 1: New Girl

**Okay, my first attempt at this. I hope people enjoy it. If you read, thank you.**

Chapter One: New Girl.

'Gabriella, Gabriella!'

She jolted upright in the bed, her chest heaving and sweat clinging to every inch of her body. She could feel her heart thumping wildly beneath her mocha brown skin and her hands were shaking uncontrollably.

'Gabriella, are you alright?' She turned her head to see her mother kneeling down at the side of her bed, lines of worry etched across her face. She was wearing a dressing robe and her long black hair was wrapped around rollers, like they had been every night since Gabriella could remember.

'Mom… I'm fine. Go on back to bed.' She attempted to control her breathing and stop her limbs from shaking as she tried to convince her mother she was fine. She just wanted to be alone. 'Gabriella, you're not fine. I know you had the dream again. I could hear you shouting from downstairs. You said they'd stopped?' Gabriella sighed and leaned her head back against her pillows. 'They have…or they had anyway. It's just because of the move and everything I'm just stressed. That's all.'

Maria Montez let out a weary sigh if her own as she stood up. 'This move was meant to be good for you Gabi. The doctors said it would help.' 'It is helping Mama, please just go back to bed. It was just a dream.' Gabriella pleaded with her mother. She could feel the all too familiar lump forming in her throat and she knew a breakdown in front of her mother would spell nothing but disaster.

'Gabriella. Please, talk to me. Don't keep everything to yourself like…before.' Gabriella squeezed her eyes shut as the memories of 'before' came flooding to the forefront of her mind. Even now, months later any thought of it gave her a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. She steeled herself against the wave of nausea that filled her before turning once again to her mother. 'There is nothing to talk about. It's not going happen again, I'm stronger now. I don't need you to baby me anymore.' Maria gave her a sceptical look as she turned to leave the room. 'Well try and get more sleep. Big day for you tomorrow.' 'I will, night mom.' Gabriella smiled at her mother as she closed the door behind her. The mention of tomorrow had only increased the nausea in her stomach. She felt the first hot tear prick her eye and before she knew it they were cascading down her cheeks. She let them come, knowing this was the last time she could let it happen. After this moment she couldn't let the memories of 'before' engulf her like this. She was stronger than this. She had to be stronger than this.

'Now, I hope you all remember about the mid-term tests coming up in the next few weeks…' he tuned out from the pointless ramblings of his homeroom teacher Ms. Darbus. Why there even had to be such a thing as homeroom he had no idea. As far as he could tell it was of no apparent benefit to anyone. He was so lost in his thoughts he didn't even hear the classroom door open nor did he notice the figure that nervously walked in. He didn't even hear the hisses of his best friend Chad Danforth. 'Troy…Troy.' However he did feel the basketball that bounced off his left forearm. 'Bolton! Danforth!' Ms Darbus' shrill voice pierced Troy's ears as he turned to stare at his friend angrily while rubbing the spot on his arm the round ball had hit. 'Put that damn basketball away and help me in introducing our newest student. Class, this is Gabriella Montez. She just moved here from San Francisco.'

There was a shift in the mood as the entire class assessed the new girl. Troy's eyes swept over her swiftly. She had long dark brown hair which curled around her shoulders. She had brown eyes which were eyeing her new companions tentatively and nervously. She was of petite build and was wearing a purple dress which seemed to hang off her skinny frame. She caught Troy's eye roving over her body and returned his smirk with a look of confusion, telling Troy her last school was definitely not like East High. She was in for some surprises, that was for sure.

'Right, well Gabriella, welcome to East High. I'm sure you'll be very happy here. This is Taylor McKessie' Ms Darbus pointed to an African-American girl sitting in the front row, 'and I'm sure she'll be happy to show you around.' Taylor beamed at Gabriella and patted the empty desk beside her. Gabriella returned her smile with a small one of her own and sat down seeming relieved that she no longer had to stand in front of the entire class.

'Troy…what do you think?' Chad whispered once again. Troy shrugged indifferently before turning back around and becoming lost in his own thoughts once again. He had been doing that a lot lately. A few months ago the arrival of a new student would have brought such excitement to Troy's life, a challenge for him. For new boys, it was to see if they had better athletic ability, for new girls to see how quickly he could get them into bed. But that was a few months ago. Now, Troy couldn't care less about his popularity at the school. Now, things were different.

'Okay, so this is the canteen, be warned, it can get crazy in here sometimes.' Gabriella followed Taylor into the hall, which, like every other part of the school was adorned with red and white. Taylor had barely left Gabriella's side all day. She was grateful that she had someone to show her around but it wasn't part of Gabriella's plan to make friends at this school. She just wanted to get through her senior year as quick as possible and be finished with school. Not that she didn't love school, she did, especially the academic side. The social side, not so much. She had no interest in the cliques and ever-constant popularity contests, maybe before, but Gabriella knew what that led to and she did not want to go back there again. She closed her eyes as she tried to force the memories which were threatening to flood her mind away.

'Gabriella…' Taylor looked at her with an unsure look. 'Sorry,' said Gabriella, 'I completely zoned out. Shall we sit down?' 'Yeah, sure' replied Taylor. 'Oh but not over there' She steered Gabriella away from the empty table she was walking towards. 'Why not? It's empty' Gabriella looked at Taylor confusedly. 'Yeah, it's the jock table. Trust me, you don't want to sit at their table.' Gabriella looked around and saw a group of boys had just sat down at the table. She recognised one of them from her homeroom this morning. He had piercing blue eyes, which she was sure could captivate anyone. His hair was dark brown and swept down across his forehead. He was also ridiculously good looking and Gabriella was pretty sure he was one of the elite popular kids. Every school had them. She knew from experience.

'Hey Taylor,' she asked, as they finally reached a table they were allowed sit at. 'Whose the guy,the one with the really blue eyes?' Taylor looked over in the same direction as Gabriella. 'Oh. Him.' She said in a tone which made it clear she severely disliked him, whoever he was. 'Troy Bolton. East High's God apparently. Captain of the basketball team, worshipped by the entire female population at the school, obnoxious jerk, you get where I'm coming from.' 'Yeah…' replied Gabriella. She knew all too well. 'Seriously Gabriella, he'd fuck you over without a second thought if he got the chance.' 'What about his friend?' Gabriella motioned with her head towards his curly haired friend who she also recognised from homeroom. 'Chad Danforth. He's like Troy's bitch. Although, unlike Troy, he doesn't seem to have a heart made of stone. He's…nice.' Gabriella looked at Taylor to see a rosy blush had appeared under her dark skin. 'Nice, huh?' laughed Gabriella raising her eyebrows. 'Don't look at me like that!' exclaimed Taylor. 'He's a jock, I'm an academic. At this school, they're two completely different planets.' Gabriella sighed. She had been naïve to think this school would be any different to her old one. High school was high school. She was pretty sure she there wasn't a high school in the country that didn't have some sort of social hierarchy and an accompanying power struggle to reach the top of it. 'Think it's the same at every school Taylor' she said returning to the conversation. 'So which clique were you in then? In your old school?' Gabriella hesitated before answering. 'Um…none really. I've always tried to stay away from all that. It causes way too much unnecessary drama.' She smiled at Taylor, thinking to herself just how ironic that statement was. 'Clever. Although good luck trying that here. Virtually impossible, I'm telling you.' Gabriella laughed nervously. 'I'll try my best,' she said flashing her new friend a brief smile.

Troy was sitting in the last class of the day. You would think this late in the day he would be willing the clock to speed up so school would be finished, but for Troy the complete opposite was true. For him, school was the easiest part of his day. It was what came after that he truly dreaded. Even the thought of it gave him knots in his stomach. He felt a hand slap the back of his neck. 'See you at practice later Bolton.' He recognised the voice of one of his teammates. 'Yeah, you too, Jason.' He replied. Strange, wasn't it? Basketball, the one thing he truly enjoyed in life, yet he had to force himself to the daily practices after school. He loved his team, he loved the matches, the feeling of adrenaline he got as soon as he stepped out onto the court, the crowd chanting his name when he scored the winning point. He could live off that feeling. But _he _tainted it. _He_ had ruined the enjoyment basketball brought for Troy. Basically, _he_ had ruined Troy's life.

'Um, excuse me.' Troy was snapped out of his reverie by a female voice. He looked up to see the new girl from homeroom standing at his desk biting her lip nervously. 'Is anyone sitting there?' she nodded towards the empty seat beside him. 'Just, there aren't any other seats.' 'Go for it' shrugged Troy. As she walked in front of him he caught a waft of her scent. Fuck. Troy didn't think he had smelled anything quite as…glorious… in his lifetime. It was musky, yet he could also smell those flowers his mom was obsessed with. What were they called again? They were in every room in his house anyway. Troy wasn't a flower person but even he couldn't deny they smelled amazing.

'So, uh, Gabriella, right?' he asked. She turned her head and nodded at him. 'How are you finding your first day?' 'It's alright.' She shrugged. Okay. Obviously she wasn't a talker. Troy tried to think of something else he could ask her to keep the conversation alit. Where did Darbus say she was from again? Somewhere in the west…San Francisco! 'So you're from Cali then? I bet New Mexico is a change from that.' Gabriella looked at him with a scrutinising look on her face. 'Look Troy, it is Troy, right?' He nodded. He wasn't surprised she knew his name. Everyone at this school did. Even the new kids. 'Why are you even talking to me?' Her question knocked him. 'Um…' For the first time Troy was left speechless by a girl. 'I mean,' she continued, 'no offence but I don't think we'll be running in the same social circle here. So if you're trying to get in my pants, I'd advise you to stop cause it's not going to work.' For the second time in as many minutes Troy was left speechless, he just stared at her stupidly, his mouth hanging open. 'What? I might be new but I know your kind.' 'My kind?' he spluttered his shock quickly turning to anger. She shrugged. 'Jocks…athletes…whatever you call yourselves here.' Troy was outraged. 'So because I play basketball, I don't have…emotions?' he accused. 'No. Because you're Troy Bolton.' 'And what exactly is that supposed to mean?' 'It means you're at the top of the social hierarchy. You're the untouchable king or whatever. I know your type.' 'I didn't ask to be popular Gabriella, it just happened to me. I can't help it. But it sure as hell doesn't give you the right to judge me.' He unleashed the full power of his eyes on her and the fury was clearly evident in them. 'I'm not judging you Troy, I'm simply telling you I don't talk to people in your world.' 'Fine' said Troy. 'Don't sit here again.' 'Oh I won't' snapped Gabriella crossing her arms and facing the front of the room.

Suddenly their psychology teacher appeared in front of their desks. 'Glad to see you're welcoming the new student Troy.' He said. Troy simply snorted in response. 'You two will be spending a lot of time together. I'm pairing you up for the personality and behaviour project.' 'Actually' interjected Troy. 'I'd like to pick a different partner Sir.' 'I'm afraid that's not possible Mr. Bolton. Everyone's already paired up. I want a first draft on my desk in two weeks.'

Troy looked at Gabriella her eyes mirroring the expression in his. Pure hatred.

'Well? How was it?' Maria Montez was waiting inside the front door a look of nervousness mingled with hope on her face. 'It was fine Mom, like I told you it would be.' She wasn't in the mood to talk about school. The day had drained her completely. 'Tell me more, how are your classes? Did you make friends?' Gabriella sighed. Her mother obviously wasn't going to give up until she was satisfied. 'Classes are pretty much the same as San Francisco, I'm doing psychology instead of business though. And yeah, a girl named Taylor showed me around. We had lunch together. She's nice.'

Gabriella's mom smiled at her. 'I just want you to be happy Gabi. I know the past year has been hard on you, it's been hard on all of us but I think this new beginning will be good for us. Especially when your father joins us next week.'

'I agree Mama' she said before running up to her room. She leaned against her bedroom door sighing deeply. She wanted to be able to look her mother in the eye and tell her she was happy. But she couldn't. Not now and maybe not ever. The simple truth was that she was not happy. She was far from it.

Troy slammed his bedroom door closed and collapsed face down on his bed groaning in frustration. As far as good days go, this one definitely didn't make the list. His mind kept returning to his conversation with the new girl. How dare she assume she knew him just because he played basketball. Troy knew he was popular. It was not like he could ignore the flirtatious glances he received walking down the hall, the groups of girls who erupted into fits of giggles because he caught their eye or spoke to them. While he didn't encourage the attention, he didn't exactly discourage it either. He was just as famous for his way with the ladies as he was for his free throws on the court. He'd had girls in the past, not girlfriends though. Never girlfriends.

He realised Gabriella was different. She wasn't going to fall at his feet and worship him because he had good abs. And if Troy was being honest she scared him. Not because she hated him or because she had been so quick to dismiss her, but because he made her feel. He made her want to fight back, to defend himself. She stirred up emotions inside him that had been lying dormant for months. Emotions nobody else, no matter how they tried, could rise from him.

The new girl made him feel again and that was the scariest thought of all.


	2. Chapter 2: Are You Happy?

**Thank you to anyone who has read or reviewed. This is way more nerve wracking than I thought it would be. I'm kinda just trying to decide where to go with this story. I don't want to give everything away at once, or too early, but I don't want to drag it on either and bore everyone. I also just want to inform that there may be waits between the chapters. I'm gonna have loads of college work coming up. Hopefully I'll be able to update once a week anyway, maybe more. Okay, I'll stop now. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Chapter Two: Are You Happy?**

He walked into the classroom to find her sitting in the same seat as when they had first spoken a week earlier. Her dark curls were pulled back into a bun today and she had her nose buried in a book. She didn't notice Troy approach the table, or if she did she chose to ignore him. He didn't attempt any conversation this time, in fact, he had decided that except for when they were doing the project he was going to pretend this girl didn't exist. This girl, who without even realising it, had caught his attention, something every female in the school had been trying to do for the past three years. The difference between them and her was that she had no interest in being one of Troy's girls, she had made that quite clear during their first encounter. This strange pull she had on Troy made his dislike of her even more immense. Everytime he saw her he grew more curious about her, be it when she was sitting reading a book, or walking down the corridor trying to make herself as small as possible or the rare times he saw her laughing. She was addictive. There was no other way he could describe her.

Gabriella sat with her nose in the book she was reading. She saw him when he reached the classroom door. She saw him hesitate when he looked over at his desk and saw her sitting there. She could have sworn she saw his chest heave in a deep sigh. She kept her eyes trained on her book giving no indication that she saw him. She felt him sit down beside her. Felt his quick glance in her direction. Still she kept her eyes on her book. She had read the same line at least five times at this stage. He coughed lightly and she jumped a little. Every muscle in her body was rigid. This was ridiculous. Why was she acting this way? She didn't even like this guy. He was a jerk. Why was she so afraid to do something, say something wrong in front of him? It wasn't like she wanted to be in this close of a proximity to him. She had no choice. He coughed again and she wondered if that was her cue to speak. Deciding it would be best to get it over with she closed her book and placed it in her bag.

'Troy…' she began. His head snapped around to face her. The intensity of his blue eyes never failed to affect her. 'Oh? Are you going to talk to me today?' he asked raising an eyebrow which disappeared high into his hair. 'I just think we need to be civil to each other…you know…we'll have to spend a lot of time together on this project.' 'I have no problem being civil to you Gabriella, you're the one who has the problem with me.' He retorted. Gabriella gritted her teeth. She really disliked him. 'Right.' She scoffed. 'Whatever you say Troy.' She crossed her arms and turned away from him staring out the window.

'Gabriella…' he began in a much softer tone but he was interrupted by their teacher who had finally decided to commence class. 'Anyone who hasn't yet assembled into the groups from last week do so now, I'll be handing out proposals for the projects today.' He shouted over the shuffling of papers and creaking of chairs in the classroom.

Troy looked over at Gabriella who was also looking at him. She was right. If they were to get to know each other's personality and behaviours and write a report on it they would have to be civil to each other. 'So I guess we're stuck with each other' he said with a slight laugh. The corners of her mouth turned upwards in a faint smile. 'I guess.' She replied. 'We should probably get started on it soon.' 'Well I'm free today after school' said Troy. 'We could do it for an hour or so.' Gabriella nodded. 'Sounds good.' They lapsed into silence before she said. 'It doesn't mean I like you Bolton. I still hate you.' 'Feelings mutual' replied Troy. He laughed to himself. He felt…warm inside. Like a fire being lit in a dark cave. He almost didn't recognise it, it had been so long since he felt it. He smiled to himself. It felt nice.

'What do you mean you're waiting for Troy? Not Troy Bolton?'

It was the end of the day and Gabriella had just declined Taylor's offer of a life home much to the indignation of her new friend. 'It's not like that. Trust me. We were paired together for some stupid project. You hardly think I'd hang out with him voluntarily?' 'I should hope not' laughed Taylor.

Since starting at the school a week ago Gabriella and Taylor had become firm friends. While Gabriella's initial intention was to just get through the year without allowing herself to get close to anyone she had found that all changing when she met Taylor. The two were exactly alike and Gabriella couldn't deny she enjoyed spending time with her. They had fun together and the fact that it had stopped Gabriella's mom from bugging her about making friends was just an added bonus.

'Well be careful. And I shall see you in the morning.' 'See you tomorrow Taylor' said Gabriella as she sat down on the edge of the fountain to wait for Troy. He emerged from the school a short while later surrounded by a group of lads. They were laughing loudly and clapping each other on the back, Troy in the centre of them, like the ringleader. Gabriella rolled her eyes, completely irritated by their behaviour.

Troy extracted himself from the group and made his way over to Gabriella amidst a chorus of jeers and catcalls from his friends. Gabriella threw them a look of disgust. They were pathetic. 'Is it necessary for your friends to behave like cavemen?' she asked as Troy reached her. 'Hello to you too' said Troy sarcastically. Gabriella chose not to answer him just as he chose to ignore her question. 'Let's just get this over with.' She snapped. 'Let's. My truck's over here.' 'What?' Gabriella stopped in her tracks. 'I thought we were gonna stay at the school and do it.' 'Well you thought wrong.' Troy continued walking towards the carpark. Gabriella ran after him. 'How do I know you're not doing this so you can purposely crash your truck and kill me?' she challenged. Troy let out a laugh. 'I may hate you Montez, but I love my truck. Be grateful I'm even letting you sit in it.'

When they reached the truck Gabriella didn't even know if she wanted to get in it. 'Ever heard of a carwash?' she asked. 'Just shut up and get in.' said Troy, clearly not amused. 'I thought we could go to my house?' he said as he started the truck. 'And then I'll drop you home after?' 'Sure, whatever' said Gabriella looking out the window.

She tried to control her breathing as Troy sped along the streets of the Alequerque suburbs. This situation was all too familiar to her. What was she doing here? With him? She was letting herself fall back into the same trap as before and she kept completely powerless as to how to stop it.

About ten minutes later they pulled up the driveway to what Gabriella assumed was Troy's house. It was big, as far as houses around here go. It was surrounded by gardens and had a basketball court off to the side.

'So this is where you live' she enquired climbing down from the white battered up truck. 'Yeah, I told you I was taking you to my house, didn't I?' Gabriella cocked her eyebrow noticing the change in his mood from when they reached his house. A sullen look had descended upon his face and he kept balling up his fists over and over. Gabriella sensed this was something deeper than his dislike of her. She followed him into the house, which given the lack of any other cars outside and the silence except for their footsteps, she assumed was empty. Troy led the way into the kitchen dumping his bag on the kitchen counter, Gabriella following suit.

'Can I get you anything to eat or drink?' he asked pulling open the fridge and retrieving a bottle of water for himself. 'No, I'm good thanks' she replied pulling the papers they would need out of her bag. 'Let's just get started, shall we?'

Troy nodded as he sat down opposite her. 'So what exactly do we have to do?' he asked taking a gulp of water. 'Um, basically it's just about noticing different personality and behavioural traits in one another and to see how they relate back to the theories. It really just enquires us to get to know each other. Which is why…' Gabriella searched for a sheet among the pile she had pulled from her bag. 'I made us this' She handed him a sheet and kept one for herself. Troy looked at the sheet to find a list of about twenty questions down the page. For some reason, the effort she had put into this made him smile inside. Not that he would ever admit that to her. 'Your organizational skills impress me, Montez.' She smiled coyly at him, bowing her head so he wouldn't notice the slight blush that came to her cheeks at the compliment. 'I was thinking we could just discuss these questions and write them down or something…I dunno…what do you think?' 'I think it sounds great' said Troy flashing her an actual genuine smile.

'Oh my god, you can't be serious?' 'Of course I'm serious, Charmander was by far the best Pokemon. And when he evolved into Charizard? Such a badass!' 'Well Bulbasaur was always my favourite. He was so cute.' Said Gabriella. 'Oh of course you'd go for the one that's the cutest. You're such a girl' retorted Troy rolling his eyes.

Four hours had passed since Gabriella had arrived at Troy's house. As alien as it seemed, she was actually enjoying herself. A lot. If you told her this morning that she would have spent four hours with Troy Bolton without once having an urge to kill him she would have said you were crazy. He surprised her. He was different than in school. Around his friends he had an aura of cockiness about him. He knew he was popular. He knew girls were watching him wishing they could have him. He knew guys were watching him wishing they could be him. But when he was alone with Gabriella, that aura, the 'I'm Troy Bolton' vibe fell away and he was himself. Just Troy. Her opinion of him still remained. He was still an obnoxious jock, he was still a social elite, he was still the complete opposite of anything Gabriella wanted to be associated with. But she couldn't help the feeling of dislike in her stomach fade away in these past few hours. It had been a long time since she had laughed this much, since she had felt this comfortable around someone, she had almost forgotten what it was like to have her stomach ache from laughter. The simple truth was that Troy Bolton made her happy.

'Hello…earth to Gabriella.' Troy waved his hand in front of Gabriella's face and she quickly snapped out of whatever trance she was in and returned to the present time. 'So what's the next question?' asked Troy his face shining with eagerness. 'Um…actually, I'd better go. My mom will be wondering where I got to.' She fumbled with her notes trying to stuff them all into her bag. Troy looked puzzled at her behaviour. A few minutes ago she had been rolling around his bedroom floor, tears streaming down her face in laughter. Now she looked as though she had seen a ghost. 'Okay…well do you want me to drive you home?' 'No no, it's fine. My house isn't far.' She threw on her coat and flew out the door bounding down the stairs. 'Wait, do you wanna work on it again tomorrow?' 'I'm actually busy after school tomorrow, I have this thing to do.' She said finally looking at him. 'I'll see you tomorrow morning though, we can talk about it.' She flashed him a brief smile before racing out the door. And just like that she was gone leaving nothing but the trace of her perfume behind. And once again Troy felt empty inside.

'Tell me about your new school.'

Gabriella sat on the sofa wringing her hands nervously her eyes looking at everything except the woman in front of her. The nerves never left her, even if she had been doing this on a regular basis for almost five months now.

'Yeah, it's fine, I guess.' She shrugged. What was there to say about it? 'I've settled in well enough. I have a friend, Taylor, and she's nice.'

The woman sitting across from her raised her eyebrows over her thick rimmed glasses. 'Nice?' she enquired. Gabriella sighed. She hated these therapy sessions. She hated having to open up about everything in her mind to some stranger and be evaluated on whether she was crazy or not. She hated talking about her feelings and her emotions. She hated how every session reminded why she was here, why she needed this.

'We get on well. We have the same interests, she's a lot like me. She's easy to talk to, she's fun to be around. I guess it's just nice to have someone who doesn't know what happened, who doesn't think I'm a freakshow and who doesn't just speak to me out of pity or sympathy.'

The therapist nodded. 'When you say she's alot like you, do you mean the old you or the new you?' Gabriella hesitated at the question. To say she had changed since moving to Albequerque would be a huge understatement. She was a new person. It was like there had been this whole other individual inside of her that was only after showing itself now. Her values in life and her views were polar opposites to what they were this time last year. She was different now. What had happened had caused her to grow up, to change her demeanour, to build these walls around herself that nobody could penetrate.

'I know I've changed since coming here, I can feel it myself. I can see the shock on my mother's face when she see's me studying on a Saturday night. I'm shocked myself sometimes. But what happened, what I went through. It was life altering. I couldn't go through that and just be the same person again. I am who I am now. I'm trying to rebuild my life and I think I'm making some sort of headway. I'm not forgetting who I was, the things I've done, the mistakes I've made. I'm just trying to move on.'

The therapist smiled. 'You're doing very well Gabriella' she spoke softly. I just have one more question. Are you happy?'

Strange, when that question left her lips, the first thing Gabriella thought of wasn't her parents, or her new school, or Taylor but the blue eyed, brown haired Troy Bolton.

'I'm getting there.'

'TROY BOLTON.'

Troy whipped his heads around to see _him_ standing on the sidelines a look of outrage on his face. Just the sight of _him_ made Troy's eyes narrowed in hatred and his fists curled into balls. He tried to control his breathing as Chad shot him wary looks from across the court.

'KEEP YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME!' The voice bellowed before turning round towards the bleachers and shaking his head. 'Fuck off' Troy muttered wiping the sweat off his forehead. He was annoyed. In fact he was more than annoyed, he was furious. He worked just as hard, if not harder than anybody else on this team, yet he was the one who got picked on. Everyday. It was relentless, endless for the whole two hour practice. Not only was it unfair, it was unprofessional to criticise the captain so much in front of the rest of the team. What kind of captain did it make Troy? He couldn't even get through one practice without being yelled at.

_He_ blew the whistle to signal the end of practice. Instead of following his teammates into the changing room Troy walked over to the sidelines. 'What the hell was that?' he demanded. 'You weren't focusing. You never do. You don't know how to commit yourself fully to this team.' 'Don't you dare say that to me, don't you dare.' Troy's veins were pumping with the pure anger running through his whole body. 'I work just as hard as everyone else on this team, harder than some. I haven't missed a practice since I joined. I've scored in every single game I have ever played. So how can you say I don't commit to this team. This team is all that I'm fucking living for at the minute.'

Troy ran his hands through his hair, shocked at his sudden outburst. 'What gives you the right to talk to your coach like that?'

Troy turned to walk away, but not before saying: 'I'm not talking to my coach, I'm talking to my father.'


End file.
